Clippers Have Won for Road in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS —  Ken Norman, injured and sidelined early in the third quarter, stood at the locker room door, shaking hands with Clipper teammates as they filed past. Though his most visible role of the night was as a greeter, the significance of the moment could not be lost amid personal disappointment.

The Clippers won on the road, beating Minnesota, 87-79, Tuesday night before 23,980 at the Metrodome. It was their first road victory of the season, after 10 consecutive misses--some close, but losses all.

Not anymore.

“I think this road trip is really going to bring us up where we should be,” said Clipper center Benoit Benjamin, who continued his improvement with 20 points on eight-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. “We always do well at home, but we will find the true character of the team on the road.”

This was a good place to start, and, not surprisingly, the Clippers’ defense made the most of it.

The Timberwolves shot 22.5% in the second half (nine of 40) as their 49-44 lead at the intermission dissolved into their 12th loss in their last 13 games.

They scored 14 points in the third quarter, 16 in the fourth.

They scored nothing after Tony Campbell’s jump shot with 1:25 left.

That basket, for two of Campbell’s game-high 31 points, cut Minnesota’s deficit to 83-79. There was plenty of time to catch up, especially with the Clippers missing easy opportunities all night.

On the Clippers’ next possession, Ron Harper glided down the middle of the lane and missed a layup. But the Timberwolves’ opportunity to draw closer fell apart when Sam Mitchell was called for an offensive foul. Danny Manning and Benjamin each made two free throws in the final 33.1 seconds, and the Clippers had a successful start to a grueling trip.

One down, seven to go.

“These kids really reached back,” Coach Don Casey said. “You could sense it in the middle of the third quarter. . . . We jelled defensively. You’re talking 14 and 16 points to a team that executed well and gets to the line a lot. This is a team that has already played a lot of people tough, witness the Lakers, Houston and Philly.

“They (the Clippers) could have said, ‘Oh, no. Here we go.’ They could have packed it in after being down by 10 in the first half. But they’re not those kinds of kids.”

Benjamin dug in at the low post and got the ball for his jump hook or short jump shot. Though the Clippers are forever talking about being a running team, this is what works for the fifth-year center. It’s what helped Benjamin finish strong last season, what has helped him improve to shoot 63.1% (41 of 65) the last seven games.

“Extreme effort,” is how Casey termed the progression of his center, who is still overweight, but improving.

“His play is getting better with time. We knew it would,” Casey said.

Benjamin, who also has a total of nine blocked shots the last two games, has another theory.

“The better I do, the better we do as a team,” he said, echoing a theme from last season. “I took the challenge to get myself going.”

Exactly how the Clippers routed Chicago with Benjamin contributing five points and five rebounds and how they beat Detroit when he had four points and five rebounds will apparently be forever unknown. But the point is, he’s coming along.

The same cannot be said for Norman, who tried, and failed, for the third time to play with a strained right groin. He made it to the second half this time, after back-to-back cameos of 10 and 13 minutes, but the result was the same.

“I gave it a try and it really stiffened up,” an obviously dejected Norman said.

When the Clippers go to Detroit today, Norman returns to Los Angeles to be examined by team physician Tony Daly. It is not known how long Norman will be out, but it seems that two or three games are the minimum.

Casey said it’s time to give Norman a chance to heal.

“Kenny is the kind of guy who always wants to play and hates to be injured,” Casey said after the Clippers improved to 11-16. “But for us to put him in more danger--not saying for the rest of his career--is not a good move.”

The absence of their third-leading scorer is obviously a loss for the Clippers. But, for a change away from home, it was their only one of the night.

Clipper Notes

Win No. 11 last season for the Clippers came Feb. 8. . . . Tod Murphy, the former Clipper from UC Irvine, had 20 rebounds for the Timberwolves. “Tod is a real gutsy player,” Benoit Benjamin said. “You have to watch him at all times because of the way he nags you on the court. Turn your head, and he comes around you the other side for a rebound.” . . . Murphy, on Benjamin: “I was awfully disappointed with the defense I played on Benoit. He had his biggest scoring game of the season, and I feel responsible for that. I’d give back all the rebounds and everything else if I could shut him down.”